The long-term objective of this application is to elucidate the roles of a novel group of proteins related in sequence and structure to catalase and to define the biochemistry and chemistry of their reactions and novel products. Catalase is renowned for its efficient reaction with hydrogen peroxide and its key role in the oxidative defense of all aerobic organisms. The catalase-related relatives studied here are smaller proteins with reaction specificity directly against fatty acid hydroperoxides. The prototypical enzyme of the proposal is an allene oxide synthase, an enzyme that catalyzes a cytochrome P450-type of reaction yet which exhibits distinct sequence homology to catalase. In Aim 1, the ability to transform the catalase-related AOS and the P450 type of AOS to monooxygenases will be examined using surrogate oxygen donors to activate the heme, with stopped flow spectral recording to detect short-lived intermediates as well as detailed product analysis to define the substrate-enzyme interaction. We also propose to change the AOS activity of these enzymes by site-direct mutagenesis of active site amino acids, a hypothesis supported by the array of products of CYP74 relatives of the P450 AOS. Aim 2 will focus on analysis of the catalytic activities of other novel enzyme candidates that have similar sequence characteristics defined as retention of the heme-binding features of a catalase within an unusually short polypeptide for catalases of only ~40kD. Aim 3 will analyze the mechanism of biosynthesis of a unique bicyclobutane fatty acid made by a catalase-related enzyme from the cyanobacterium Anabaena, and also characterize the structures of its hydrolysis and rearrangement products. This has implications regarding the potential synthesis of bicyclobutanes in other areas of biology. We will also address structural issues pertinent to the cyclization of natural allene oxide diastereomers, which is of fundamental interest in understanding the nature of allene oxide metabolism and the chemistry of cyclopentenone synthesis. The results of this study will provide new insights and a new way of thinking about the enzymatic capabilities of a long-recognized protein family with established roles as a sentinel at the forefront of oxidative defense.